A reader asks, "How do I get Lost Things as soon as it comes out? How does this Barnes & Noble exclusive thing work? I want the ebook but I have a Kindle, not a Nook. Does that mean I have to wait? Should I order the paperback instead?"

Ok, here's how it works -- from July 9 to August 9 the ebook for Lost Things will be available exclusively through Barnes & Noble's Nook First program. Each month they promote one book in each genre (only one!) and market that book heavily. In return, they have the exclusive on the book for a month. On August 10 the ebook of Lost Things will be available on Amazon, through the publisher's website, through Smashwords and many other outlets -- it's only exclusive to Barnes & Noble for a month.

If you want to go ahead and get the book because you can't wait (yay!) it does NOT have copy protection on it. There are many free programs to convert books from Nook format to Kindle format, so you can buy it and convert it any way you please.

Meanwhile, the paperback is up for preorder now, and will ship on August 1, as well as be available through Amazon, etc on August 1. So those are the options!

(No, I don't know if any particular bookstore will stock the paperback. Obviously I wish they all would! But I don't have any control over who decides to order it to shelve or not. If you'd like your local bookstore to order it, here's the ISBN: 1937530035)